Device for securing fire hydrants by locking the check mechanism of a valve spigot

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device for securing a fire hydrant, includes a duct ( 3 ), a control pipe ( 4 ) provided at the lower end with a gate valve including a gate ( 7 ) for allowing or preventing the water supply of the duct ( 3 ) from the main network, the gate having an essentially planar or frusto-conical upper face ( 3 ), characterised in that a locking element ( 10 ) is provided at the level of the upper surface ( 8 ) and can extend radially relative to the control pipe in order to prevent, in the locking position, the axial displacement of the gate ( 7 ).

The field of this invention is that of firefighting means and in particular water supply terminals, such as fire posts and fire hydrants, combined under the generic term of hydrants.

A fire post is, as its name indicates, a hollow post in which a set of controls is arranged and which allows the channeling of pressurized water from the primary supply network to the firefighting personnel. The post is equipped with valves to which the firefighters come to connect their hoses, which are sealed by plugs when they are not in use. Using a wheel, fixed or movable, or a key that is fitted to a maneuvering end fitting, the controls make it possible to move the check mechanism of a valve spigot that is arranged on the pipe for channeling the water and whose opening causes the water to be made available. The post very often is enclosed in a hood that is equipped with a door that has a lock to keep water from being tapped off without authorization.

A fire hydrant differs slightly from a post in that it is completely integrated in the ground so as to be less visible, but it remains almost identical in its operation; namely, it uses a valve for connecting the firefighters' hoses and a maneuvering end fitting, on which a key is fitted to activate the check mechanism and to allow the water that is obtained from the primary network to flow.

Each post, like each hydrant, is always preceded upstream, just before its connection to the pipe that comes from the water supply network, by a “keyed hydrant.”

The latter, so called through improper use of language, is actually an isolating spigot that makes it possible to isolate the hydrant from the primary network. For this purpose, it is advisable to insert a suitable key in the top of the keyed hydrant, to pass through the elongated tube that extends it, to reach and to maneuver the isolating spigot.

The problem that communities frequently encounter is the theft of water by diversion of water from these hydrants. Various solutions have been proposed, as described in the patents U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,950 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,957, which aim either at preventing the rotation of the control tube of the valve spigot or at preventing access to the valves of the connections of the hoses. In the first case, this very often involves locks or loads arranged on the control nut of the tube or on its maneuvering handle. In the second case, this involves loads arranged on the valve and held by a lock. None of these solutions is actually effective because in general, these devices are positioned outside of the hydrant and are therefore exposed to all sorts of damage, whereby the latter can range from detachment or pure and simple destruction of the lock and/or the load.

This invention has as its object to eliminate these drawbacks by proposing a locking device at the check mechanism of the valve spigot that prevents the rotation of the control tube and the discharge of water.

For this purpose, the invention has as its object a device for securing a fire hydrant that comprises a pipe, a control tube equipped at its lower end with a valve spigot that consists of a check mechanism that can allow said pipe to be supplied with water from the primary network or prevent it from being supplied from said network, whereby said check mechanism comprises an essentially flat or tapered upper surface, characterized in that a locking means is positioned at said upper surface and can be deployed radially relative to said control tube in such a way that, in the locked position, it prevents said check mechanism from moving axially.

Locking at the level of the check mechanism of the valve spigot makes virtually any attempt at deterioration of the securing means impossible.

Advantageously, the locking means is a bolt that is controlled by a lock whose body forms a sealed chamber with the pipe.

The risks of leakage in the check mechanism are thus avoided.

In one particular embodiment, the lock is distant from the bolt, and the bolt is activated in rotation by an approximately vertical rod, whereby said rod is controlled by said lock.

This configuration makes it possible to activate the bolt from the ground and to ensure sealing all the way up the pipe.

Preferably, said lock opens only in the presence of a magnetic or electromagnetic signal that is provided by an outside source.

The diversion of keys and the distribution of multiple copies thereof are thus prevented.

Alternatively, the locking means is equipped with ferromagnetic elements, and the pipe supports a system for activation by magnetization that can radially deploy said locking means.

This alternative locking method has the advantage of offering greater possibilities for control of the locking device and in particular remote control.

Advantageously, the locking means is a bolt that is controlled by a lock, and the mechanism for activation by magnetization and the mechanism for activation by the lock both supersede one another for the closing.

This configuration allows a double securing of the hydrant.

The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details, characteristics and advantages of the latter will emerge more clearly during the following detailed explanatory description of an embodiment of the invention that is provided by way of purely illustrative and nonlimiting example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a simplified cutaway view of a fire post (FIG. 1 a) and a fire hydrant (FIG. 1 b) according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway view of a valve spigot that is equipped with a locking device according to an embodiment of the invention.

With reference to FIG. 1 a, a fire post 1, enclosed in a covering 2, is seen that comprises an approximately vertical pipe 3 through which passes a control tube 4 whose upper end has the shape of a male maneuvering end fitting 5, onto which a fixed or movable control handle 6 is attached. At the lower end, the control tube supports a valve 7 that forms a spigot for releasing water from the primary supply network.

In FIG. 1 b, the situation is analogous for the fire hydrant, whereby the same references refer to the same elements.

With reference now to FIG. 2, it is seen that the valve spigot of a fire hydrant such as a fire post or a fire hydrant, comprises a check mechanism 7, equipped with a sealing point that rests on a seat that is an integral part of the pipe 3. This check mechanism 7, positioned at the end of the control tube 4, makes it possible, by the rotation of the tube, to control the opening or the closing of the valve spigot. Such a rotation triggers in a known way a movement of rising or descent of the unit formed by the check mechanism 7 and the control tube 4 and turning the hydrant on or off.

On the side of the pipe 3, a housing 11 is shown in diagram form that communicates with the pipe 3 in which the body 9 of a locking device, such as a lock, is housed. This lock has a locking means, such as a bolt 10, that can move approximately horizontally between a locked position, as shown in FIG. 2, where the bolt essentially abuts against the control tube 4 and an unlocked position where the bolt is retracted relative to the control tube 4 and to the check mechanism 7 so as to allow free movement of the latter from the closing position of the valve spigot toward that of a full opening. The check mechanism 7 has an essentially flat or tapered surface on its upper part 8 so as to oppose a locking surface when the bolt 10 is in locked position.

The housing 11 has as its object to create a chamber in which the bolt 10 can move without putting the sealing of the pipe in danger with regard to the exterior. As indicated in FIG. 2, it may be a matter of a bump joined with the pipe 3, but, more commonly, this housing is merged with the pipe 3, whereby the sealing is then brought to the top part of the hydrant. The lock that activates the bolt is located in the first case at the valve spigot (version that can be used primarily for fire hydrants) and, in the second case, it is offset in the covering 2 of the hydrant, so that there is access thereto despite the bolt being implanted under ground (case of fire posts). The bolt is then activated by a vertical rod that creates the mechanical link between it and the lock.

In a particular embodiment, the lock is of the “beater” type, i.e., the bolt has the shape of a small plate, rotating on itself around an axis that is perpendicular to its plane, which is formed by the rod.

Alternatively to the installation of a conventional lock, it is possible to install a magnetic or electromagnetic locking means of the type of the one installed in the isolating spigots arranged downstream from the water meters in the private residences at the end of the rod that controls the bolt. This magnetic locking system has the special feature of automatically activating itself in the event of water being tapped off outside the meter's reach (breaking of the connection between the spigot and the meter) and being deactivated only by the presence of a magnetic card that transmits a proper access code to the system. In this case, the locking would be an operation by default, and the magnetic card would be provided to firefighters or to any other individual having the right to eliminate the period of their use of the hydrant; but no one would have access to the water if he does not have this card available. This device could also be coupled to a magnetic meter that would make it possible to remotely consume water at the hydrant.

The production of a securing device according to the invention will now be described. This invention requires only one housing 11 or, provided during construction of the pipe so as to be installed there in an airtight fashion, a lock whose bolt is able to move radially toward the upper part of the check mechanism 7. In the locked position, the check mechanism is immobilized in closed position; in the unlocked position, the bolt leaves the check mechanism by moving upward and to release the water.

In the second place, it is necessary to provide access to the locking device to be able to insert a control means therein, such as a key, even if this device is deeply implanted in the ground.

The start-up takes place in a conventional way with the action of a key to lock or unlock the bolt or the rod that supports the bolt and thus to prevent or to allow the opening of the check mechanism and the circulation of the water.

Other variants are possible, such as, for example, securing achieved by a magnetic control of the movements of the bolt 10. In this version, a magnetization ring is inserted into, for example, the inside wall of the pipe 3 or on the body 9 of the locking device. This magnetization is able to be turned on or off by authorized personnel. For its part, the bolt 10 is equipped with a ferromagnetic element, such as, for example, a plate, so as to respond to stresses coming from the magnetization ring.

During the activation of the magnetization, the bolt is stressed to move it toward the locked position. When the magnetization is eliminated, it then tends to return toward the unlocked position, under the action of, for example, an elastic return force that is installed for this purpose.

It can also be considered to couple the two securing types mentioned above so as to improve the protection of the hydrant. For this purpose, it is always suitable to allow the activation of the locking device by one or the other of the two devices, independently of the other. It is then necessary to provide a mechanism for disengaging the key to be able to preserve the locking by the magnetic system whereas the mechanical system is stressed in the direction of the unlocking. In a general way, the desired securing is supposed to ensure that priority for closing will be given to one or the other of the two systems.

Although the invention has been described in relation to one particular embodiment, it is quite obvious that it is in no way limited and that it comprises all of the technical equivalents of the means that are described as well as their combinations if the latter fall within the scope of the invention. 

1. Device for securing a fire hydrant that comprises a pipe (3), a control tube (4) that is equipped at its lower end with a valve spigot that consists of a check mechanism (7) that can allow said pipe (3) to be supplied with water from the primary network or prevent it from being supplied from said network, whereby said check mechanism comprises an essentially flat or tapered upper surface (8), characterized in that a locking means (10) is positioned at said upper surface (8) and can be deployed radially relative to said control tube in such a way that, in the locked position, it prevents said check mechanism (7) from moving axially.
 2. Securing device according to claim 1, wherein the locking means (10) is a bolt that is controlled by a lock whose body (9) forms a sealed chamber (11) with the pipe (3).
 3. Securing device according to claim 2, wherein the lock is distant from the bolt and wherein the bolt is activated in rotation by means of an essentially vertical rod, whereby said rod is controlled by said lock.
 4. Securing device according to claim 2, wherein said lock opens only in the presence of a magnetic or electromagnetic signal that is provided by an outside source.
 5. Securing device according to claim 1, wherein the locking means (10) is equipped with ferromagnetic elements and wherein the pipe (3) supports a system for activation by magnetization that can radially deploy said locking means.
 6. Securing device according to claim 4, wherein the locking means (10) is a bolt that is controlled by a lock and wherein the mechanism for activation by magnetization and the mechanism for activation by the lock both supersede one another for the closing.
 7. Securing device according to claim 3, wherein said lock opens only in the presence of a magnetic or electromagnetic signal that is provided by an outside source.
 8. Securing device according to claim 7, wherein the locking means (10) is a bolt that is controlled by a lock and wherein the mechanism for activation by magnetization and the mechanism for activation by the lock both supersede one another for the closing. 